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COMPARISON OF WISCONSIN AND CALIFORNIA DAIRIES The dairy business in the state of Wisconsin came about because of the challenges and competition of growing wheat by the early settlers. Farmers experimented with different agricultural ideas that were more suited to the local soil and climate, and by the mid-nineteenth century, more than 90% of Wisconsin farms had switched to raising dairy cattle. The main product that was produced from these first dairies was cheese because of its ability to be kept longer, but milk was always a major product produced on Wisconsin farms. By 1915 Wisconsin was producing more butter and cheese than any other state in the nation. Dairying in California came about quite differently. It came about more as a necessity to the first Spanish missionaries living there. In 1775 the first large herd of dairy cattle came into California by Juan Bautista. During this early time, their milking technique was crude and the milk cows were overall not as tame as the dairy cattle that were first used in Wisconsin. When a steady stream of Americans started coming to settle California, families often brought their own milk cow with them. These new settlers had a strong desire for milk products which included butter and cheese in addition to milk. Men at this time were working in mines, and in addition to income brought about by mining, women were selling milk and milk products to the local miners for a profit. This was the beginning of the California dairy business. The dairy business obviously started out much differently in California than it did in Wisconsin. Not only did they start out differently, they remain different in how and who runs them. In Wisconsin, the dairy business is usually a family owned farm where not only are the cows milked there, but the feed for the cattle is grown by the local dairy farmer. There are an average of 98 milk cows per farm in Wisconsin. In California, as stated in the article” Guide to the California Dairy Industry History Collection “the state (of California) has less than one-seventh the number of dairies as Wisconsin and nine times the Wisconsin average.” In numbers that means California has 70% more cows than Wisconsin but much fewer dairies. California dairies are much bigger but are not normally family owned and run farms. Most dairy feed for California dairies is raised in the Midwest and shipped to the California dairy farms while Wisconsin dairy farmers raise their own cattle feed. Also, since the dairies are so much larger in California, a larger work force is required beyond what a single family dairy farmer in Wisconsin can do. To sum this up, expenses in the Wisconsin and the California dairies are quite different. Wisconsin was at one time the leading dairy state in the nation, but in 1993, California took that title away from them. California is now the number one leading milk producer and is a close second in cheese production. Both California and Wisconsin have very strong economy based dairy businesses. Because of this strong economy based industry, local universities have been offering courses for many years for farmers and soon-to-be farmers to keep up on technology and also to learn farming techniques that specifically apply to dairy farming. The local universities have been a very important resource to the dairy industries in both Wisconsin and California. Although there are a lot of differences in the dairy business in California and Wisconsin, both states have been affected by some of the same challenges. Local government and federal regulations have forced dairy farmers in both states to make some changes in their operations that affect air and water quality in their specific regions. Plus, low milk prices over the past several years have greatly affected the dairy businesses in both Wisconsin and California. Labor costs also have greatly affected both states but in different ways. For California, fuel and labor costs have both risen which makes the transportation of Midwest feed much more expensive to ship, plus the cost for the actual labors who work on the dairies has greatly increased. Wisconsin in addition has higher labor cost issues because of the necessity for most dairy farmers in Wisconsin to obtain more acreage and a few more cattle to make their farms more productive, which therefore means the possibility of hiring an outside labor force who are not family members. With technology improving over the years in spite of more federal and local government regulations, the dairy business in both Wisconsin and California is still a thriving, profitable business and the competition between these two states will mostly likely continue as the years go on, and we as a nation and as a world will continue to receive high quality dairy products from both California and Wisconsin. RESOURCES www.wisconsinhistory.org, “The Rise of Dairy Farming” www.widba.com “It’s Family First on Wisconsin Farms” www.agweb.com “California’s Turning Point” Guide to the California Dairy Industry History Collection “A Brief History of the California Dairy Industry” OVERVIEW OF THE MIDDLE WEST The Middle West had many early European settlers. Each group had different areas of expertise in farming products, mining, and even beer brewing as the Germans were a good example of. The middle west is a region of the country that is mostly known for the “Corn Belt” which is the nation’s most productive agricultural region. One of the major crops as indicated in the term “Corn Belt” is corn. Corn had and still has many uses and has created industries that use corn products such as the automobile industry, animal feed (hogs and cattle mostly), and miscellaneous food uses. Although this region is mainly known for its agricultural products, big cities such as Chicago and Kansas City were created as major resources for shipment and production of the products created by corn production. Although this region remains agriculturally productive in both cities and on farmland, weather and man-made influences (both good and bad) have changed the farming and production methods over time and those changes continue to happen even today. Another large industry in the Middle West is the steel industry in the Lower Great Lakes Region which is sometimes referred to as the “Manufacturing Belt.” The steel industry, which brought about cities like Pittsburgh and automobile maker cities like Detroit and Flint, Michigan are also included in this region. In recent years, both of these cities and other cities with steel related economies are having lose of population and other challenges that are related to the steel industry thus sometimes the area has been referred to as the “Rust Belt.” The actual Great Lakes in this region are a very useful resource to the Middle West for all sorts of commerce. For example the city of Chicago was first established close to the Great Lakes and it is still one of largest cities in the United States. Although the Great Lakes are well used for shipping and local transportation of goods, lots of environmental challenges have arisen over the years regarding cleanliness of the water which has affected both water life and even recreation on the lakes. The Middle West region also contains large waterfalls that contribute to local economies. For example, the city of Minneapolis was built around a waterfall on the Mississippi River. Flour milling became important in this area and companies like Pillsbury were created here. In addition to the Great Lakes, there are some large rivers like the Mississippi and Ohio that were great resources for travel, shipping and fishing, both recreationally and for food. Another example of areas with important river usage and settlement are in the Virginia Military District which includes areas by the Ohio River, the Little Miami River and the Scioto River. Land grants were given to soldiers for their military service in these areas close to large rivers as payment for service already given. Dairy farming is also a big part of the Middle West economy in the Lower Great Lakes region. Wisconsin continues to be one of the biggest milk and cheese producers in the world. Milk, butter, and cheese and other dairy products are used all over the United States and worldwide from this region.